The stablecoin giant Tether has dissolved its gold trading team, which was previously recruited from HSBC. According to a Bloomberg report on March 31 citing informed sources, Tether has terminated the employment of senior precious metals traders Vincent Domien and Mathew O'Neill, both of whom joined the company just a few months earlier after leaving HSBC Holdings.
The reasons for their departure remain unclear. Their hiring coincided with a record year of gold acquisitions by Tether, during which the company's purchases nearly surpassed those of all central banks combined. In response to inquiries from Bloomberg News, Tether stated that the company remains committed to maintaining a lean team and continuously optimizing its operations.
This personnel change comes as Tether faces pressure from a recent correction in gold prices. In March, influenced by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, crude oil prices surged while the gold market experienced its worst monthly performance since 2008. Against this backdrop, the price of crude oil measured in gold terms rose sharply during the month, breaking a multi-year downward trend.
The recruitment of Domien and O'Neill initially drew significant attention in the gold market. Both held senior roles at HSBC, with Domien overseeing global metals trading and O'Neill serving as a top salesperson. Tether brought them on board with the goal of professionalizing its gold reserve management and generating returns through active management of gold assets. The company publicly expressed ambitions to build "the world’s best gold trading desk."
Their hiring aligned with Tether’s record-breaking gold purchasing spree, which exceeded the acquisitions of nearly all central banks. However, gold prices came under pressure in March due to multiple factors, including a sell-off triggered by conflict involving Iran, rising expectations of interest rate hikes, and reports of at least one central bank reducing its gold holdings. The simultaneous decline in both gold and Bitcoin has put pressure on Tether’s investment portfolio.
Analysts suggest that Tether may be scaling back its team size after completing its strategic gold accumulation. The company currently employs approximately 300 people. This move also highlights a broader trend in the commodities industry, where trading firms have aggressively recruited talent from traditional banking institutions that have long dominated the gold market. For instance, Mercuria Energy Group hired Benjamin Binet-Laisne from Goldman Sachs, while Gunvor Group brought in a group of traders from multiple institutions.
The personnel changes in Tether’s gold team coincide with a critical phase in the company’s own transformation. This month, Tether announced that it has engaged a major accounting firm to conduct its first comprehensive financial audit. At the same time, the company’s plan to raise up to $20 billion in external funding has been put on hold pending the outcome of the audit.
Tether is the issuer of USDT, the world’s largest U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, with a circulating supply of approximately $1.84 trillion. As of early this year, the company held around 140 metric tons of gold, primarily used to back USDT and its smaller gold-pegged stablecoin, XAUT.
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